Title

Billionaire green energy champion Tom Steyer has been strangely silent about a slew of trade tariffs analysts believe President Donald Trump could potentially level on the solar industry.

Steyer, a Democratic donor liberal with seemingly limitless cash, has spent little time campaigning against an effort to slap beefy tariffs on solar panel products from foreign countries. Analysts believe such protectionist policies could cripple the industry.

Solar companies Suniva and SolarWorld kickstarted a full-throated campaign earlier this year to convince the Trump administration to block cheap solar products from China. They claim cheap imports nearly drove them out of business, while other companies in the industry are balking at the allegation.

...

Free market groups have called out the proposed tariffs. Think tanks R-Street and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, for instance, suggested last month that protectionist policies would render the green energy impotent.